Ghana b2 visa. Anyone have any experience?

[swisscantmiss 0]

Girlfriend is Ghana citizen, has a passport but no travel history. She has a MTN booth she owns as a business with small cash flow. Owns an apartment and has family near by. She submitted a b2 application at the US embassy in Accra 2 weeks ago. From what I understand b2 visa is all on the individual and ties to their home country. Would an invitation letter or form I-864(affidavit of support) help her chances? I understand denial rates are high coming from this part of the world. Anyone with any experience for b2 from ghana?

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

There is nothing you can do to help.  No letter, no affidavit.  She must qualify on her own merits.  Good luck. 

[powerpuff 6,746]

21 minutes ago, swisscantmiss said:

Would an invitation letter or form I-864(affidavit of support) help her chances?

That would decrease her chances 

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

9 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

That would decrease her chances 

Agree.  An affidavit and/or letter could put unwanted focus on the US boyfriend.......and could, subsequently,  raise suspicion of illegal intent. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Letters won’t help

MTN is well known there of course so that may help prove ties, who will be looking after  the business while she’s away?

[swisscantmiss 0]

Appreciate all the responses so far. She thought a letter would help so I’m glad I asked here first. Family will take care of her phone booth Susie. Anyone have any idea how long until she gets an interview?

[powerpuff 6,746]

About 321 days, give or take 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

17 hours ago, swisscantmiss said:

Appreciate all the responses so far. She thought a letter would help so I’m glad I asked here first. Family will take care of her phone booth Susie. Anyone have any idea how long until she gets an interview?

Oh - I somehow thought when you said she submitted an application two weeks ago, that she had the interview already. Do you mean she submitted the DS160 online? Usually the next step is for the applicant to go to the embassy’s online system and book an appointment. Accra is showing a 321 day wait time for an appointment at present https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html

Edited July 13, 2022 by SusieQQQ

[Fidelite 1]

@swisscantmissI heard couple people transferred their cases to Freetown Sierra Leone.. the wait time there for an interview is only 180 days. I believe you have to get a resident permit there, which doesn’t take long. Most were student visas though, so something to also look into. And it’s visa free for Ghanaians. 
good luck keep us updated. 

[jan22 3,056]

9 hours ago, Fidelite said:

@swisscantmissI heard couple people transferred their cases to Freetown Sierra Leone.. the wait time there for an interview is only 180 days. I believe you have to get a resident permit there, which doesn’t take long. Most were student visas though, so something to also look into. And it’s visa free for Ghanaians. 
good luck keep us updated. 

This is a recipe for how to get your visitor visa refused.  If you become a resident of Sierra Leone and then immediately apply for a US visitor visit (B2), your application will be evaluated on the basis of your strong ties to Sierra Leone -- which do not exist.  And, they can't use/evalulate your ties to Ghana because you have just told then you no longer live there and, therefore, have no strong ties there either.  

Edited August 3, 2022 by jan22

[swisscantmiss 0]

She got her appointment for this b2 visa interview at the US embassy in Accra 1 year from now. This is too long. Is there anyway to expedite the process??

[Boiler 45,903]

36 minutes ago, swisscantmiss said:

She got her appointment for this b2 visa interview at the US embassy in Accra 1 year from now. This is too long. Is there anyway to expedite the process??

What would be the reason for an emergency appointment?

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Unless you have one of the reasons that qualifies as an emergency (usually life or death or urgent medical care), no. But do keep checking the calendar. From their website 

 

 

Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) applications in all visa classes are processed.  Routine interview appointments in many NIV categories have been made available several years into the future to address high demand.  The consular section will open additional appointments in the coming weeks and months according to estimated staffing and capacity.  We encourage applicants to monitor our calendar at USTravelDocs.com/gh for newly added appointments and earlier appointment dates.  

 

 

[SalishSea 18,069]

On 10/10/2022 at 10:08 AM, swisscantmiss said:

She got her appointment for this b2 visa interview at the US embassy in Accra 1 year from now. This is too long. Is there anyway to expedite the process??

No.

 

Best bet is for you to go there to visit.

[nastra30 2,315]

On 10/10/2022 at 1:08 PM, swisscantmiss said:

She got her appointment for this b2 visa interview at the US embassy in Accra 1 year from now. This is too long. Is there anyway to expedite the process??

No way to expedite unless it's a medical or death situation. Otherwise, lots of people will be expediting.

You guys have few other options if your goal is to see each other more quickly.

 

1. You can travel the other direction to Ghana 

2. Both of you can go to a 3rd country. Example - Dubai(UAE)

3. Keep monitoring the USEM interview slots frequently, an earlier slot could open up.

Edited October 13, 2022 by nastra30